PISCATAWAY, NJ – The Big Ten Wrestling Championships are underway in New Jersey. All 10 of Iowa’s wrestlers secured top-three seeds in their weight bracket.

Here’s results from the Hawkeyes in the first session:

Championship Bracket Round 1

125 pounds – Spencer Lee, Bye

Lee will take on Rutgers’ Nicolas Aguilar in the next round.

133 – Austin DeSanto defeats Jordan Decatur (Ohio State), 17-3

DeSanto opened up the scoring with a takedown early. He responded with two four-point near falls to take a 10-0 lead into the second period. Decatur got DeSanto on his back once in the second, but it was all Iowa the rest of the way as DeSanto secured the major decision.

DeSanto will take on Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett in the next round. DeSanot defeated Lovett by a 7-4 decision earlier this season.

141 – Max Murin defeats Hunter Baxter (Maryland), pin

Murin held a 14-2 lead in the third period before pinning Baxter in the third period. He will take on Minnesota’s Mitch McKee in the next round. Murin is 1-2 in his Iowa career against McKee. Last season, McKee defeated Murin in a dual match and at the 2019 Big Ten Championships. This year, Murin defeated McKee by 6-4 decision.

149 – Pat Lugo, Bye

Lugo will take on Purdue’s Griffin Parriott in the next round.

157 – Kaleb Young, Bye

Young will take on Nebraska’s Peyton Robb in the next round. Young defeated Robb by decision, 6-4, in a dual earlier this season.

165 – Alex Marinelli, Bye

Marinelli will take on Illinois’ Danny Braunagel in the next round. Marinelli is 1-0 in his career against Braunagel after securing a 12-2 major decision over him at the 2018 Midlands Championships.

174 – Michael Kemerer, Bye

Kemerer will take on Michigan State’s Layne Malczewski in the next round. Kemrer secured a 12-2 major decision in his only match against Malczewski.

184 – Abe Assad over Kyle Jasenski (Maryland), 12-4

In his first match back from injury, Assad wasted no time and recorded two takedowns in the first period In the second, Assad started things out with an escape point to build his lead. In total, Assad recorded five takedowns to secure the major decision and advance.

In the next round, Assad will take on Ohio State’s Rocky Jordan. Assad defeated Jordan by 3-1 decision at a dual earlier this season.

197 – Jacob Warner over Nick Willham (Indiana), 14-4

Warner scored a takedown at the 1:27 mark of the first period to open up the scoring. He added to his score with another takedown in the final 20 seconds of the opening period and went into the second up 5-1.

285 – Tony Cassioppi defeated Parker Robison (Maryland), pin

Cassioppi made quick work of his outmatched opponent, pinning Robinson early in the first period.

Championship Bracket Round 2

All 10 Hawkeyes advanced to the second round. Here is Iowa’s results from the second round:

125 – Lee over Nicolas Aguilar (Rutgers), pin

In his opening match of the 2020 Big Ten Championships, Lee pinned his opponent 2:53 into the first period to advance to the semifinals. He was up 12-0 before putting Aguilar away with a pin.

133 – DeSanto over Ridge Lovett (Nebraska), 1-0

The match was scoreless going into the second period and DeSanto held a 1-0 lead going into the third. That lead held for DeSanto the rest of the way as he won by that 1-0 score and advanced to the semifinals.

141 – Mitch McKee (Minnesota) over Murin, 3-1

Murin picked up an escape point to begin the second period to open the scoring at 1-0. That would be the same score heading into the third period. McKee secured an escape to open the period, tying the score. McKee scored a takedown right at the end of the match that was held up after review to take the match.

Murin is the first Hawkeye to lose in this tournament. He will head to wrestlebacks.

149 – Lugo over Collin Purinton (Nebraska), 11-3

Lugo used a pair of takedowns to carry a 5-1 advantage into the third period. The flurry of takedowns continued and Lugo extended his lead to 10-2 to take the match and advance to the semifinals.

157 – Peyton Robb (Nebraska) over Kaleb Young, 3-2

Robb struck first with a takedown and Young could not recover in his quarterfinals loss. He is now the second Hawkeye headed to the wrestlebacks.

165 – Marinelli over Danny Braunagel (Illinois), 14-2

Marinelli put on a clinic on his way to the semifinals. He led 8-1 after the first period after two takedowns and a four-point near fall. Marinelli kept dominating from there to advance to the next round.

174 – Kemerer over Layne Malczewski (Michigan State), pin

Much like Lee, Kemerer dominated his first match at Big Tens. He pinned Malczewski of Michigan State in 1:43 to advance to the semifinals.

184 – Assad over Rocky Jordan (Ohio State), 8-0

After a scoreless first period, Assad responded with a four-point near fall midway through the second. To start the third, Assad secured a takedown to increase his lead to 6-0. An escape point made it 7-0 and after riding time Assad advanced with an 8-0 major victory

197 – Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) over Jacob Warner, 3-1

Warner recorded an escape point in the second period to open the scoring. Rasheed responded with a takedown that held after review to win and send Warner to wrestlebacks.

285 – Cassioppi over Gary Traub (Ohio State), 4-0

Cassioppi rode out the match in the third period to secure his advancement.

Overall, Iowa went 5-0 in round one and 7-3 in the quarterfinals.

What’s next

Seven Hawkeyes will take the mat in tonight’s semifinals looking to advance to the final round tomorrow:

125 – Lee vs. Jack Medley (Michigan)

133 – DeSanto vs. Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)

149 – Lugo vs. Brayton Lee (Minnesota)

165 – Marinelli vs. Shayne Oster (Northwestern)

174 – Kemerer vs. Devin Skatzka (Minnesota)

184 – Assad vs. Cameron Caffery (Michigan State)

285 – Cassioppi vs. Gable Stevenson (Minnesota)

The remaining three wrestlers will compete in wrestlebacks in a hunt for third place.

Team standings

1. Iowa – 72
2. Nebraska – 58.5
3. Penn State – 56.5
4. Northwestern – 49
5. Minnesota – 44.5
6. Michigan – 39
7. Ohio State – 34.5
8. Purdue – 31.5
9. Wisconsin – 24
10. Michigan State – 20
11. Rutgers – 12
12. Illinois – 9.5
13. Indiana – 4
14. Maryland – 0